A little straightening job today

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The powder coater broght a couple bumpers by today that one of his guys had screwed up. They heat them up with a large propane burner to break down the old powder coating so they can sand blast. They warp one every now and again  as they did this one. I've straightened enough of them to have it down by now. A few beads and a little hammering and almost good as new.I had to lay the poles down to bet it in the shop.It had a triple warp to it.Welded slow and wide beads to get maximum pull on the metal.Came out pretty straight. Attached Images
Reply:Went out for the next one. It looked easier but was a lot harder because of the folded edges.More weld beads and more hammering.It came out OK as well. Attached Images
Reply:Cool weld bending technique Dave J.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Nice bumpers now! City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by BobWent out for the next one. It looked easier but was a lot harder because of the folded edges.More weld beads and more hammering.It came out OK as well.
Reply:The truck is an '89 GMC 4x4 (second engine) with an "A" frame on it. When I fist started welding, almost all welding rigs had gin poles on them. I know I couldn't get by with out one and don't understand how other weldors get by with out having them.
Reply:Man, I would love to find someone in my area to teach me this. I have tried a few times with not much success. Great fix Bob. If you cant fix it with a hammer, it must be an electrical problem."Boy, everyone starts with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before the bag of luck is empty."-Grandad circa 1990ish
Reply:Good to see the old tried and proven methods dusted off and used Bob.  Great fix! Originally Posted by larpheadMan, I would love to find someone in my area to teach me this. I have tried a few times with not much success. Great fix Bob.
Reply:Damb nice Bob, damb nice.Lincoln SA 200Esab Caddy 160Thermal Arc 201TSMiller Dialarc HFI don't like making plans for the day because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around the courtroom....
Reply:Nice fix.Any reason you weld straightened instead of flame straightened? Are you getting more shrink with the weld bead? Is the advantage worth the clean up grinding?
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireNice fix.Any reason you weld straightened instead of flame straightened? Are you getting more shrink with the weld bead? Is the advantage worth the clean up grinding?
Reply:Very impressive wish I new how to do that .. looks like you did  good job. Are those just in to be repowder coated?Miller Pro 300 SS w/ cat Miller Bobcat 250Miller Diversion 165 Miller 211Miller Xtreme 375Miller 12vsMiller Dynasty 200 DX Miller Passport Plus w/ Spool GunMiller 30a spoolmaticLincoln AC225 Buzz Box VictorMathey Dearman - H&M
Reply:wow, very nice! [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireNice fix.Any reason you weld straightened instead of flame straightened? Are you getting more shrink with the weld bead? Is the advantage worth the clean up grinding?
Reply:Turned out very well.I have good luck flame straightening structural shapes, but have never really had an easy time straightening sheet/plate using flame."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Any suggestions on flame straightening a tube axle on a dump trailer.
Reply:Originally Posted by Cat220Any suggestions on flame straightening a tube axle on a dump trailer.
Reply:Originally Posted by Cat220Any suggestions on flame straightening a tube axle on a dump trailer.
Reply:Bob will try the chain and jack method. Enjoyed your discussion about gin poles on the other post. Why do they go to all the trouble to build a gin pole truck when a crane would do the same job in the oil fields?
Reply:Tell the powder coater that removing powder with a flame is barbaric. The correct way to remove old powder is with chemicals such as aircraft stripper or other softening agents if the product is aluminum.
Reply:Originally Posted by Rog02It could probably be done, but most axle manufacturers don't recommend using heat. It will either embrittle the axle or soften it.  If embrittled, it will crack and if softened it will just bend again, usually worse.  Check the truck frame shops in your area and possibly the truck alignment shops too for someone who has the axle flexing equipment used to align beam axles on class 8 tractors.  Back when it was permissible to flex the axles into correct alignment (not with the modern high strength axles) we did them cold.Check with the axle manufacturer about approved alignment and straightening methods.Post up some pics and it would help to determine what the best method might be.
Reply:Those pictures bring back memories of my mis-spent youth Sam!  I spent many days crawling around one of those old drive on frame racks.The set up shown there is for adjusting the toe in/out on a drive axle.  When the pumpkin is rotated to the horizontal pinion angle the camber is measured.  Tire wear, fuel mileage, and overall drive-ability or all improved with a properly aligned truck.  The "scrub angle" (relationship of the rear axles to one another) is adjusted on the truck.  The forward axle is brought into proper track behind the steer axle first, then the other drive is squared to the forward drive.  If the tractor or truck is a single with a tag or pusher, the drive is "scrubbed" and the tag or pusher is then set to the drive. As far as the front axles, the newer ones don't allow for bending as per manufacturers specs.  The ones I tried to tweak would flex in the jig and regardless of the over-bend (to allow for spring back) it just settled back to the beginning readings.  Anything after the late 70's pays to check the books on allowable practices.  I am not saying it can't be done, just that shop liability is a question here.Cat220,The chain and jack will work if you can get a solid enough set up to apply the pressure without launching the jack into orbit.  If you can lay hands on a piece of beam and use two drop chains as the set up Sam shows it will let you apply a bunch more pressure without getting a ride to the hospital.  100 ton jacks are common to these set ups to give you some idea of the pressure required.  Always best to sneak up on the bend as it is easier to jack it again than to tear down and reset the fixture to undo an over-bend.Good luck!  Be safe!RogerOld, Tired, and GRUMPYSalesman will call, Batteries not included, Assembly is required, and FREE ADVICE IS WORTH EXACTLY WHAT YOU PAY FOR IT!Dial Arc 250HFThunderbolt 225 AC/DCAssorted A/O torches
Reply:Here I thought they were set up to actually put stress on the axle itself.  Cool!  Never thought of correcting toe on drive axles"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by Cat220Bob will try the chain and jack method. Enjoyed your discussion about gin poles on the other post. Why do they go to all the trouble to build a gin pole truck when a crane would do the same job in the oil fields?
Reply:Originally Posted by BobTwo reasons, cheaper and they could build it them selves.I also don't like the idea of the crane putting so much stress in one spot on the truck. The gin poles spread out any strain on the bed and the truck.Originally Posted by farmersammHere I thought they were set up to actually put stress on the axle itself.  Cool!  Never thought of correcting toe on drive axles
Reply:Tractor Supply wanted $249 plus for an axle. Went to FleetPride here in Indianapolis and their price is $120 plus. Will install new axle. Thank you guys for the options. I would need to build a Jig to hold the axle in place while bending unless you could do it on the trailer. Saw two old guys 75 and 83 install a flag pole with a gin poll on an old line truck. Want to build one for my truck but have not seen one around here to copy from a 1 ton. Again, Thank you.